|
We are members of:
Web Resources:
In Memory of 09-11-01
Lest We Forget
| |
SPOUSAL SUPPORT:
Spousal Support or alimony is intended to help someone going
through a divorce financially. The person to be aided is called the supported
spouse and the one who is paying support is called the supporting spouse. the
money is suppose to help the supported spouse to maintain his or her accustomed
standard of living. In addition, it is to ease the transition to living as a
single person.
Either party may
be ordered to pay spousal support. Many women are shocked to learn that, in an
appropriate case, her husband may actually qualify for spousal support. There is
no statute requires that the husband must pay the wife, it's an urban myth.
The length of time that the supported
spouse receives spousal support is within the "sound discretion" of the court and commonly is related to the length of the marriage. For
marriages under 10 years in length, the usual rule is one-half of the length of
the marriage.
So using that rule
a 6 year marriage may justify 3 years of spousal support. That being said,
remember that is not set in stone. If you were married to someone for a short
time, who no fault of their own became seriously ill or disabled, the Court may
order Spousal Support for a longer period of time.
Today there is a move afoot to
severely limit that length of time that someone can receive Spousal Support.
Despite the fact that most judgments provide that spousal support may only be
terminated by the death of either spouse, or the re-marriage of the supported
spouse, or further order of court. Cases like In Re The Marriage of
Gavron now require that the Court warn the supported spouse of their
duty to become self supporting rather quickly. If the supported spouse willfully
fails to comply, the Court may reduce or terminate their support.
Even in so called "permanent"
support cases, the support really isn't forever. Recent cases allow the
supporting spouse to retire, which in many cases will severely affect the
supported spouse.
The Court has jurisdiction to order
Spousal Support in appropriate cases for either party. Spousal Support is set by
the Court utilizing the criteria set forth in Family Code Section §4320.
FAMILY CODE SECTION §4320
Provides as follows: In ordering spousal support under this part, the court
shall consider all of the following circumstances:
(a) The extent to which the earning
capacity of each party is sufficient to maintain the standard of living
established during the marriage, taking into account all of the following:
-
The marketable skills of the supported party; the job
market for those skills; the time and expenses required for the supported
party to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop those
skills; and the possible need for retraining or education to acquire other,
more marketable skills or employment.
(b) The extent to
which the supported party contributed to the attainment of an education,
training, a career position, or a license by the supporting party.
(c) The ability of the supporting
party to pay spousal support, taking into account the supporting party's earning
capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living.
(d) The needs of each party based on
the standard of living established during the marriage.
(e) The
obligations and assets, including the separate property, of each party.
(f) The duration of the marriage.
(g) The ability of the
supported party to engage in gainful employment without unduly interfering with
the interests of dependent children in the custody of the party.
(h) The age and
health of the parties.
(i) Documented evidence of any
history of domestic violence, as defined in Section 6211, between the parties,
including, but not limited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting
from domestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by the supporting
party, and consideration of any history of violence against the supporting party
by the supported party.
(j) The immediate and specific tax
consequences to each party.
(k) The balance of the hardships to
each party.
(l) The goal that the supported party
shall be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. Except in the case
of a marriage of long duration as described in Section 4336, a "reasonable
period of time" for purposes of this section generally shall be one-half the
length of the marriage. However, nothing in this section is intended to limit
the court's discretion to order support for a greater or lesser length of time,
based on any of the other factors listed in this section, Section 4336, and the
circumstances of the parties.
(m) The criminal
conviction of an abusive spouse shall be considered in making a reduction or
elimination of a spousal support award in accordance with Section 4325.
(n) Any other factors the court
determines are just and equitable.
As you can see
determining whether or not someone is qualified to receive Spousal Support isn't
an easy question to answer. The judge takes these factors and their own
experience and decides what is fair. As a general rule marriages longer than 10
years are considered long terms marriages. A court is usually not going to
terminate Spousal Support jurisdiction on long term marriages for a very long
time.
Top of Page
|
THE LAW
OFFICES
OF
